Heading into the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Indiana Pacers were considered a strong dark horse to make some noise in the Eastern Conference. They had a strong regular season, earning the No. 6 seed and having a pretty good path in the opinion of some analysts.
In the first round, Indiana drew the Milwaukee Bucks, a team that they had a lot of success against in the regular season. The Central Division foes faced off five times and the Pacers came away victorious in four of them.
Should the Pacers advance, they would face the winner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks. Some NBA analysts, such as Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley, believe Indiana would defeat New York if they matched up.
That would leave the Boston Celtics as the potential final hurdle for the Pacers to face off against in the Eastern Conference Finals. No one had much success against Boston, but Indiana did go 2-3 against them in the regular season.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: 2024 NBA Playoffs & Indiana Pacers Updates
While the path to an NBA Championship is a tough one, at least one person has gone all in on the Pacers. According to Action Network on X, a bettor on Caesars Sportsbook wagered $6.6K on the Pacers to win the title at +7500 odds. That would be a payout of $497K should Indiana pull it off.
People are free to do whatever they like with their money, but that feels like a poor use of it, especially after seeing how Indiana fared in Game 1 against Milwaukee. Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo not in the lineup, the Bucks dominated, winning 109-94.
Indiana looked like a deer in the headlights for a majority of the game, struggling to knock down shots they normally make with regularity. But, without a defense that can consistently get stops, having their offense perform at that level is a death sentence for the team.
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